Volatile Chemistry (Billionaires' Secrets Book 1) (9 page)

She said something, but he couldn’t make out the words because his attention was too intently riveted on her mouth. The sharp angles of her upper lip and the soft pink fullness of the lower absorbed
h
im completely.

The shaft of sunlight glanced across her face and she blinked, squinting. She raised her hand to shield her eyes and the action pulled her dress tight over her breasts and across her slim waist. “I said should we bring back the plates?”

“No.”

She didn’t struggle. Not even a little, the way he realized later that she should have.

That would have stopped him.

Instead she surrendered completely, with a shuddering sigh that sealed the inevitability of what was about to happen.

Chapter Nine

T
hey didn’t even kiss right away. Dominic buried his face in her neck and inhaled the mesmerizing scent of her skin. She pressed her cheek to his, her hands fisting into his hair, clutching at his shirt.

His breath came harder and faster, but he couldn’t do anything about it. His fingers pushed into the skin of her back through the delicate fabric of her dress, seeking her warmth and the soft femininity of her lush body.

He chafed his palms over her curves, up and down her spine and past her waist. Her ragged breath heated his skin and stirred the rage of desire roaring through him.

He unzipped her dress with a sure, fast swipe and pushed it back over her shoulders.

Why her? Why now?

Her deception and her unrepentant attitude irked him for reasons he couldn’t articulate. She wouldn’t listen to reason. Was it irritation that heated his blood?

The thoughts pushed through his brain even as he sank his hot, hungry mouth over her breast, suckling it through her bra.

But none of those things explained his reaction to this woman.

Was she going along just to keep him quiet? Sex as blackmail?

He didn’t care. Couldn’t help himself.

Her fingernails scratched him as she struggled with the buttons of his shirt, then gave up, tugging at it and trying to pull it over his head.

A low moan squeezed from her throat. He trailed his mouth over her belly button and shoved her dress down with one hand. He licked, hungry for the taste of her, for the warmth of her skin against his.

He cupped her buttocks with both hands, their full shape driving him crazy. He could feel her fingers in his hair, holding tight, tugging his head back until she bent to kiss him and their mouths tangled together in a hot and breath-stealing kiss.

He never did know what happened to his clothes. Maybe he’d forgotten to wear a belt and his pants just fell off. All he could remember was the sensation of her slim, cool fingers reaching under the cotton of his boxer shorts, taking hold and driving him into a state of madness he never really came back from.

He struggled with the condom he’d scrambled to find in the bathroom. Her fingers worked over his skin, teasing and taunting him, driving him further and further into a fog of lust.

He let his mouth roam over her naked body, inhaling the rich female scent of her skin until he wondered if he’d lose his mind altogether.

Then she climbed over him with trembling thighs and welcomed him inside her.

Bella slid her hips down and took him deep. She couldn’t stop the moan of pleasure that issued from her lips. Lips that had trailed over the hard lines of his face, down his neck and along his broad, muscled shoulders.

He sucked hard on her neck, until she could feel his teeth against her skin. Heat surged through her, stung her fingers and toes and made her buck against him.

The boss’s son.

This was the kind of mistake that ended careers. That ruined lives.

He laved her nipple with his tongue, which made her cry out and arch her back, shivering from head to toe.

His big hands held her waist, gripping her, his palms on her backside and his thumbs against her belly, and she couldn’t help but wriggle against him.

Then he buried his face between her breasts, a gesture so intimate and tender it almost broke her heart.

She didn’t realize how much she’d missed simply being close to someone.

Dominic’s broad palms slid over her back, sparking fire under her skin. His arms closed around her and made her rock her hips and pull him even deeper into her until the sensation became almost too intense to bear.

She was a scientist. She studied things, tried to understand them, but she didn’t understand these feelings surging through her. She couldn’t control them any more than she could stop breathing.

Dominic’s strong hand cupped her face and tipped it to meet his. Her eyes opened for a split second and she took in the expression that tightened his handsome features. Then his mouth covered hers, greedy with passion.

She couldn’t prevent her hips from kicking into a steady rhythm that sent ripples of pleasure shocking through her.

Their tongues fought and their arms wound around each other. The rhythm heightened, gathering intensity. Emotion built inside her until she thought she might burst, or cry, or cry out with the painful fullness of it.

It’s just sensation. It doesn’t mean anything.

She was just using him. Trying to distract him.

Wasn’t she?

Dominic’s strong arms held her so tight they almost squeezed the breath from her lungs. They felt so good wrapped around her, so
safe.
She’d been tired and lonely and scared for so long, and sometimes she couldn’t remember what it felt like to feel any other way. She didn’t want him to ever let go.

Even though she wasn’t safe at all.

Strange guttural sounds rose from her throat and mingled with his low, throaty groan as the rhythm rose to a crescendo. Her hands clutched at him, trying to get a grip, to hold on tight.

She was losing it, losing the ability to think or even feel. Then he gathered her in his arms and gave a last hard thrust that pushed her over the ragged edge of reality.

It was a high edge, and she fell and fell and fell, reaching and grasping but finding nothing to grab on to on the way down. She knew the landing would hurt. That she’d fall hard and fast and possibly be bruised, or maybe even crushed beyond repair.

And she was right.

Two hours later Dominic shoved through the revolving doors of Hardcastle Enterprises, irritation and lust still burning on
his
skin and in his blood.

He was disgusted with himself. He’d taken advantage of a vulnerable woman who knew he had the power to destroy her.

He was disgusted with Bella too. If she’d put up even the slightest hint of resistance he would have stopped. Was she so afraid of him, of his relationship to Tarrant, that she didn’t dare say no?

She’d said no to his kiss in the cab.

Then again, he’d said no to his father’s offer of the company, or any of its juicy component parts. That didn’t mean he didn’t want them. He just didn’t want to owe Tarrant anything.

He marched across the marble lobby toward the bank of elevators. He itched to own that chain of stores he’d lost to his father. He’d had the future of each store plotted out, right down to the inventory and staffing needs, only to see Tarrant sneak them out from under his nose.

He pushed his thumb hard on the button for the executive floor.

Hardcastle Enterprises didn’t seem to have any plans for the stores. Tarrant was just sitting on them like the proverbial dog in the manger. When he was dead, it wouldn’t be too hard to convince his successor to part with them.

When he was dead.

His gut clenched. He didn’t want Tarrant to die.

The odd realization came as the elevator opened onto the executive office floor.

“Dominic!” Samantha spotted him from where she stood chatting with the receptionist. Tarrant’s third wife was younger than he. Her pale blond hair fluttered as she sprang across the carpet and kissed him on the cheek. Only once, thank God.

“Tarrant hasn’t stopped talking about you. They’re going over sales projections for the next quarter. Totally over my head, I’m afraid, but I know he wants you in there.”

Do
mini
c had reluctantly agreed to come to the annual board meeting, and Tarrant was almost tearful with gratitude. His own motivation had been learning insider information about the company that he might exploit to his advantage.

If he felt at all bad about that he just had to recall the memory of his mom cleaning people’s houses after work to make ends meet. Removed guilt pangs like Lava soap on grease.

But now he was late because he’d gotten held up screwing a key executive. An executive whose main goal in life was to screw Tarrant over.

“Something came up,” he muttered.

Her bracelets jingled as she pressed a hand on his arm. “Oh, he won’t mind that you’re late. I know he’s dying to introduce you to everyone.” Her expensive scent assaulted his nose.

“No, I mean I won’t be able to make the meeting. A problem cropped up, I need to get back to work.”

Her carefully made-up face crumpled. “Oh, Dominic. Please do go in, just for a minute.”

He steeled himself against her pleading expression. “I have calls to make.”

She grabbed his arm with a force that got his attention. “Come with me.” She tugged him down the hall and into an empty conference room. He was too startled to resist. That, and her manicure was close to drawing blood.

In the room she let go of him and put her hands on her skinny hips. A stray image of Bella’s glorious full hips crept into his mind and he tried to shove it away.

“Let’s not kid around. I know you’re probably disgusted that your father not only abandoned you and your mother but now he’s married to someone like me. I know I’m young, that people think I’m just a gold digger trying to get rich by marrying a sick man.”

Dominic struggled to keep his expression blank.

“I love your father. I really love him. He’s made a lot of mistakes but he’s a good man.” Her eyes grew moist. Dominic braced himself against the possibility of tears, but she seemed to get herself under control. “Nothing matters more to him than finding a successor, and you are the ideal person to take over Hardcastle Enterprises. With your retail background you already have the skill set and the knowledge required to—”

“So he told me. But from what I hear, I’m not Tarrant’s only bastard child, so I suspect he’ll come up with another heir who fits the bill.”

His blood boiled at the reality that other kids had suffered the same treatment as he and his mother.
Let one of them have the company.

“I know it’s an awkward situation. You have every right to feel bitter about how you’ve been treated. Tarrant is the first to admit he was wrong. He knows he only has a short time to live and a lifetime of wrongs to right, but he’s doing his best.”

Dominic scowled. “Wrongs to right? You can’t rewrite the past.”

“He wants to make amends.” She drew in a shaky breath. “He went down to Florida last week to see your mother.”

“What?”

“He signed papers affirming paternity, and paid a full eighteen years of inflation-adjusted child support.”

Dominic realized his mouth was hanging open and he snapped it shut. “Very useful now, when she doesn’t have a child to support.”

“He also offered her a million dollars in company stock, but she wouldn’t take it.”

“I don’t blame her.”

Anger crackled through his muscles. They didn’t need anything from the man who’d pretended they didn’t exist. He could take care of his mom now.

“Tarrant will never know what my mom went through trying to raise me alone.”

“She did a great job.”

Silence hung in the air.

He forced a sarcastic smile. “Gee, thanks.”

“You don’t have to like me.” Her eyes were a fierce blue. “You don’t even have to like Tarrant. He certainly doesn’t expect you to. But please—”

She grabbed his arm again. The pressure of her fingers and her pleading gaze should have annoyed him, but instead they touched something in him.

“Please at least consider Tarrant’s offer. Stay long enough to get to know the company. Hardcastle Enterprises employs thousands of people, who need a strong leader to keep their jobs and livelihoods safe. Go into the board meeting, even if only for a minute. He’s a dying man.” Her voice rose as she pulled out all the stops, one by one.

Dominic got tired of his heartstrings being played like a harp. “Okay.” He could sit through one more meeting to get Tarrant’s wife off his case.

She heaved a sigh of relief and a huge smile spread across her face. “Thanks, Dominic.”

“He should put you in sales.”

She laughed, but she did escort him all the way to the door of the boardroom. Maybe she thought he’d try to make a run for it.

Maybe he would have.

Dominic’s muscles cramped as he sat there surrounded by people who breathed, lived and loved Hardcastle Enterprises. Any of the company men and women at the table would probably have been happy to take over the CEO role, and from what he could tell, most of them would have been at least competent. But Tarrant wanted him, because of a blood tie he’d once rejected as meaningless.